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History · West Dennis

West Dennis’ post office opened in 1833, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: maps from 1887 on and old-book passages.

1833first post office
1on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How West Dennis began

When was West Dennis founded?

1833

The West Dennis post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 2,304193 years
Founding year: the first West Dennis post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about West Dennis’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of West Dennis are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18875 editions of the USGS map, 1887 to 1974. Watch West Dennis change.Deep rootsA post office since 1833: 193 years of West Dennis.Old housesHalf of West Dennis’ homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start West Dennis’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how West Dennis’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

West Dennis on the map, 1887 to 1974

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Dennis. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

West Dennis on the 1887 USGS mapWest Dennis on the 1893 USGS mapWest Dennis on the 1949 USGS mapWest Dennis on the 1961 USGS mapWest Dennis on the 1974 USGS map1887Yarmouth sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of West Dennis.

The story so far

West Dennis, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of West Dennis yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

West Dennis is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Dennis in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, West Dennis had a population of 2,304.

Its first post office opened in 1833. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,242 to 2,304 (+3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about West Dennis in 1890

Passages that mention West Dennis, cut from the printed page as they were published.

South Dennis is the middle village of the three south of tlie railroad, and extends from the road along Bass river to West Dennis. It was the term formerly applied to the entire south part of the town, but two other brisk villages have usurped the greater portion of the territory. South Dennis is t…
History of Barnstable County, Massachusetts, 1620-1637-1686-18901890 · page 529Read the page →
Read the text

South Dennis is the middle village of the three south of tlie railroad, and extends from the road along Bass river to West Dennis. It was the term formerly applied to the entire south part of the town, but two other brisk villages have usurped the greater portion of the territory. South Dennis is the railway village of the town, and consequently will occupy an enviable position, although of less importance in business. It is a model of rural loveliness, and its long, crooked street is a charming drive. The settlement of the present village

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
ceeded by his son, Peter, until just before the civil war, when it was removed to South Yarmouth by its purchaser, Freeman Crowell. In 1884 Thacher T. Baxter built the steam grist mill now doing efficient service in West Dennis. The power being sufficient, in 1886 Sears Crowell placed in the second…
History of Barnstable County, Massachusetts, 1620-1637-1686-18901890 · page 532Read the page →
Read the text

ceeded by his son, Peter, until just before the civil war, when it was removed to South Yarmouth by its purchaser, Freeman Crowell. In 1884 Thacher T. Baxter built the steam grist mill now doing efficient service in West Dennis. The power being sufficient, in 1886 Sears Crowell placed in the second story of the mill, six tack machines, and in 1887 four more. He and Mr. Baxter did business as the West Dennis Tack Company, until the fall of 1889, when the machines were sold and removed.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

West Dennis, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Tom Skeyhill Gravesite2018Tom Skeyhill GravesiteCape Cod, Massachusetts2010Cape Cod, MassachusettsWest Dennis Graded School2008West Dennis Graded School
On the National Register

1 historic place in West Dennis

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Dennis PortIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDennis5 historic placesB+South Yarmouth1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townYarmouth6 historic placesASouth DennisIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about West Dennis’ history

What year was West Dennis founded?

The West Dennis post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.